


Moving on

by robliz



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-20 06:12:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8238865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robliz/pseuds/robliz
Summary: Serena is determined to forget Bernie and the hurt she has caused. This might work when Bernie is still in Ukraine but will she still be able to when Bernie returns?





	1. Chapter 1

Serena put her head down on the desk.

“Enough,” she said out loud to the empty office. “Enough moping around. Time to move on.”

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and took a deep breath. Standing up, she grabbed her coat and bag and walked out of the office door.

Raf glanced up at her as she left. She forced herself to smile at him. He smiled back with a confused look in his eyes. Well it wasn’t like she could blame him. That was probably the first smile she had given him in the six weeks since Bernie left. She must remember to thank him later for putting up with her. She knew that she hadn’t exactly been pleasant company recently but he never complained once, just got on with his work, and some of hers too when she wasn’t feeling up to it.

The sun was just peeking out from behind the clouds when Serena stepped into the car park. She tried smiling again, feeling the weak autumn warmth of the sun on her face. It was easier this time, a bit more natural. Maybe she could stop moping and move on.

She stopped at the fish and chip shop on the way home, getting a pickled egg for Jason as some kind of apology for the last few weeks. She didn’t know how much he had picked up. He obviously knew she was miserable and had noticed Bernie’s absence but she wasn’t sure whether he had put two and two together. It wasn’t like she had been talking about it. Most evenings she had gone straight to her room after they had eaten, often with a bottle of Shiraz in her hand. It wasn’t fair on Jason to leave him on his own so often, but it also wouldn’t have been fair to inflict her despair on him either.

Not tonight though. Tonight she was going to sit with Jason and watch whatever he wanted on TV. Then at the weekend she would take him out somewhere, maybe into the countryside, and they could talk and she could apologise.

Having a plan made her feel better again. She grinned to herself. So it turned out that pulling herself together and getting on with life might actually be the best thing after all. Her mother would be so proud of her for realising this. The thought actually made her let out a snort of a laugh, and the sound of that made her laugh even more. She had to pull the car into the side of the road as the laughter got more and more hysterical and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Once she had calmed down enough to see properly, she set off home. Jason was in the living room when she got back watching Pointless on the TV.

“Hello Auntie Serena,” he said, not looking away from the screen.

“Hello Jason. I’ve got dinner right here. It’ll be on the table in a few minutes.”

She took the food into the kitchen and plated it up. She grabbed a couple of glasses of water and some cutlery and placed it all on the table. As the ending credits began to roll, Jason wandered into the dining room. He sat down and then gave Serena a strange look.

“Is everything alright Auntie Serena?” he asked.

“Yes Jason, everything is fine,” she replied.

“You look different,” he said. He studied her for a few moments.

“I know!” he said suddenly, “You’re smiling!”

Serena beamed at him.

“Does that mean Bernie is back from Ukraine? I know you were missing her.”

The mention of Bernie broke Serena’s smile for a moment. So he had picked up on some of the reason why she was so miserable.

“No, no. She’s not back. But I can be happy anyway. How do you fancy going on a trip at the weekend?”

The quick change of subject was lost on Jason as he began listing the places that he’d like to go that weekend, distracting Serena from the pain she was determined to get over.

Later, curled up on the sofa watching Jason get excited over his shows, Serena realised she was genuinely enjoying herself. The fog that had hung over her was lifting, slowly but surely. She felt an overwhelming urge to hug Jason and thank him for this evening, not that he would like that. She settled instead for reaching out and squeezing his hand. He looked at her a little uncertain.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been good to live with recently Jason. I promise I’m going to be better from now on.”

The normal routine of the evening, plus the fact that no alcohol was consumed, meant that Serena slept really well that night. There were no dreams, good or otherwise, about Bernie to disturb her sleep either. She woke early feeling thoroughly refreshed and ready to face the day. She dressed and grabbed a slice of toast for breakfast, forgoing the coffee as she honestly felt that she did not need it. It was like waking up a new woman.

The roads were quiet early in the morning and even the stop at the supermarket on the way to work didn’t make her late. She breezed into AAU, smiling and saying hello to the nurses.

“Let me know when Raf gets in,” she said as she walked towards the office. She had some chocolates and a huge thank you to give to him when he arrived.  
Being early into work gave her a chance to finish up some of the previous day’s paperwork before doing the rounds of the patients. As she was just finishing off the last one, Raf stuck his head around the office door.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked, looking nervous.

“Yes,” she smiled, looking up from the paperwork. “Come in and sit down.”

He did, still looking like he was ready to bolt at any moment if the situation turned ugly.

She grabbed the box of chocolates from her bag and handed it to him.

“Thank you?” he said, confused.

“It’s me who should be saying thank you to you, Raf. I have been awful to work with recently and you have been nothing but kind to me. This doesn’t even begin to make it up to you but I had to start somewhere.”

“Serena, you really didn’t have to…”

“I did,” she said, interrupting him. “Now go and eat them. And don’t let me hear that you have been sharing with the kids. They are for you and you only, you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Raf, smiling at Serena as he stood up.

He took a step towards the door and turned back to Serena. “I’m glad you are feeling happier.”

“Me too, Raf. Me too.”


	2. Chapter 2

Things were definitely looking up, Serena thought. The rain had held off over the weekend and she and Jason had managed a lovely trip to the seaside. The November wind had almost blown them away but the sea air had refreshed them both. Jason had enjoyed the amusements so much that Serena had felt guilty dragging him away from them, until she realised just how much money he had managed to spend on them. The only thing he had been able to win was a small soft toy in the shape of a fox. He had given it to Serena in the restaurant that evening.

“I thought it could keep you company at work until Bernie gets back,” he had said simply. Serena had felt her eyes being to feel with tears but she blinked them away and thanked Jason.

When Sunday evening came, she even realised that she was actually looking forward to work the next day. She was looking forward to seeing her colleagues and treating patients. It was the first time since Bernie left that she had felt this.

Walking onto the ward on Monday morning, Serena could feel that something was up. The atmosphere felt somehow charged and she noticed a couple of the porters whispering in the corner. For a moment, she wondered which poor person had ended up on the wrong side of the rumour mill again. Then she realised that the nurses were all sneaking glances at her, looking worried. The painful memories of the first few days after Bernie had left came flooding back to her. Those days when she knew that the whole hospital was talking about her but she was too hurt to care what they were saying. It seemed to be starting up again and she didn’t know why.

Refusing to let herself worry about it, she walked on towards her office. The whole ward seemed to be watching her as she pushed open the door and stepped in. And she immediately knew why.

Bernie Wolfe was sitting there, in her chair, at her desk, as though everything was completely normal. Serena stopped breathing as she stood there, halfway through the doorway, in shock.

Bernie glanced up at her. “Hi,” she whispered a low, gravelly tone of voice that gave Serena goosebumps.

Serena, whose brain did not appear to be functioning correctly, had just about enough sense to close the door behind her before she ran up to Bernie and fell into her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her.

Bernie, having recovered from the shock of Serena landing on top of her, kissed back enthusiastically, running her hands up and down Serena’s back. She pulled back from Serena for a moment and looked into her eyes.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

The momentary pause in the kissing was enough for Serena’s brain to come back to life. She wriggled out of Bernie’s embrace and stood up.

“No,” she said firmly. “No. I am not doing this again. No.”

She backed away from Bernie slowly.

“Serena?” Bernie questioned.

“No,” repeated Serena. “I am not doing this. I am not just falling back into your arms when you reappear, without a word, nearly two months after you broke my heart.”

Serena’s voice was getting louder and louder. Bernie stood up and reached out an arm towards her but Serena pushed her away.

“I am not that weak. I am stronger than this, than you. I don’t need you anymore. I spent six long weeks missing you so badly that I couldn’t think of anything else. I am not letting myself get that bad again. I am not letting you affect me so much again. So no.”

Serena turned around and walked straight back out of the office. She walked straight past all the people in AAU that were staring at her and out into the corridor. Not sure where else to go, she headed out to the car park and slid into her car.

She tried to prevent the tears from coming, tried to remember the good mood she had sustained for the past few days, but it wasn’t enough. What was it about Bernie Wolfe that made her act like this, like a lovesick teenager? And now she had given the rumour mill plenty more fodder. Why couldn’t she have just acted normally? Damn that Bernie Wolfe. Why hadn’t she even thought to give them some warning before just appearing back at work like nothing had happened? Who does that?

Her phone beeped and she saw that she had a message from Raf.

_Bernie has gone to speak to Hanssen. The coast is clear. Could do with your help on a couple of cases._

Serena felt overwhelming gratitude towards Raf. That box of chocolates that she gave him last week was nothing like enough. Sighing, she wiped her eyes on a tissue and headed back to AAU. The new plan for the day was to throw herself into her work and avoid Bernie as much as possible. She was not letting Bernie ruin her mood again.


	3. Chapter 3

Bernie seemed to get the message pretty fast. She stayed out of Serena’s way as much as was possible with both of them working on the same ward. She never seemed to be in the office and Serena wasn’t sure how she was getting any of her paperwork done. It didn’t seem to help though. Serena still spent most days gazing longingly at the empty chair across the desks from her, half wishing that Bernie was sat there and half glad she wasn’t. Every time she saw Bernie across the room, her heart seemed to leap in her chest. She couldn’t concentrate on anything. It was a good job that Bernie was back to help take away some of the work load or poor Raf would have been completely snowed under.

Serena hated the way that she had just fallen back into Bernie’s arms so quickly. She hated how drawn to the other woman she was. After Edward, how could she think about getting into a relationship with someone who could hurt her like that?

It was Raf who took matters into his own hands in the end. He was fed up with the tension that had become a daily reality on AAU since Bernie had returned. He dragged Serena and Bernie in turn to their shared office and forced them to sit down facing each other.

“I don’t care how you sort it out but you need to right now. It is not fair on me or the rest of AAU, let alone yourselves. Remember you were colleagues and friends before anything else. Concentrate on that if nothing else.”

He left them, closing the office door behind him. Serena sat and looked at Bernie who was staring at her feet. She looked tired as though all the life had been drained out of her. The bright smiling face she was used to looking at seemed to have gone. All the fight seemed to have gone from her. Serena knew she was supposed to feel angry but she really couldn’t when Bernie looked so pathetic.

“Bernie…”

Bernie looked up and into Serena’s eyes. She didn’t know what to say to her. Bernie’s eyes were full of sorrow.

“Serena…”

They both sat staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.

“I’m sorry,” Bernie said, breaking the tension.

“I know,” Serena whispered, only really realising it now. There was no way Bernie would have got herself into such a state if she wasn’t sorry. She reached out a hand towards Bernie who took it in her own hand. Their fingers laced together and Serena caught a small smile appear on Bernie’s face.

“Friends?” asked Bernie, her eyes displaying her hopefulness.

“Of course,” replied Serena. She smiled at Bernie, their hands still clasped together. Bernie smiled back. She could do this. She could be friends with Bernie. And honestly, the thing she had missed most about Bernie while she was away was the friendship. She missed chatting over glasses of wine at Albie’s. She missed having someone around who cared what she thought and listened to what she said. She missed having a colleague that she enjoyed working with.

Serena considered pulling Bernie into a hug at this point but decided against it. Bernie wasn’t exactly a tactile person and she didn’t want it to be misread. Instead she stood up and used their linked hands to pull Bernie to her feet.

Just at that moment Raf knocked on the door and stuck his head around it.

“Sorry to bother you both,” he said, smiling as he noticed their joined hands, “It’s just that we have a trauma case on its way in now.”

“Right, thanks Raf,” said Bernie. She turned to Serena. “Give me a hand?”

“Love to,” said Serena, smiling.

It was good to be back in theatre opposite Bernie, their hands working seamlessly together like always. They were quieter than usual, the quick witted dialogue that usually flowed between them not quite there yet but this was better than nothing. Serena allowed herself to glance up into Bernie’s eyes as they closed up the patient. Bernie’s eyes were on hers and the sadness that had been there earlier had faded away.

“Thank you Ms Campbell. Couldn’t have managed without you,” Bernie said, quiet enough so that only Serena could hear.

“Glad to help,” Serena replied, trying to keep her beating heart under control. The sultry tones of Bernie’s voice along with the intense eye contact were doing things to her that she really didn’t want. They were friends now, she reminded herself. And that was all she wanted to be right now. Friends didn’t fantasise about what those capable fingers could do to them. She shook her head slightly, as though trying to dislodge the thought from her brain. She was not going down that path again.

Raf and Morven dragged both of them out to Albie’s that evening and Serena sat at the table, glass of Shiraz in hand, as Bernie talked about Kyiv and the new trauma unit there. It wasn’t easy listening. She just couldn’t forget how she had felt while Bernie was off in Ukraine doing all these exciting things. But she forced herself to listen, to be the friend Bernie had asked for.

Raf drew her to one side a bit later.

“You okay Serena?” he asked, glancing around to check that Bernie was out of earshot.

Serena nodded. “I’m fine. It’s good.”

“So you and Bernie…?”

“Are friends. Sort of anyway. We’ll get there.”

“Good,” he said looking visible relieved. “We can work on the relationship thing later.”

“I don’t think so,” sighed Serena, “That ship has well and truly sailed.”

She looked over at Bernie who was chatting animatedly to Morven.

“No. We’ll stick to friends from now on. Anything else just gets too messy.”


	4. Chapter 4

It did gradually get easier. Bernie started getting them both coffee in the mornings and Serena left sandwiches from Pulses on Bernie’s desk when she was stuck in theatre over lunch. Conversation still didn’t flow as easily as it used to but they could easily talk about work related things. They shared theatres, working closely as a team like before. Serena even felt brave enough to ask Bernie if she would join her for a glass of wine in Albie’s one evening.

It had been a long day in AAU with the red phone ringing off the hook all day. Serena had come back into the office at the end of her shift to find Bernie sat slumped in her chair, her head in her hands. Serena stopped for a moment, trying to figure out what the appropriate move was for a friend in this situation. She stepped closer and placed a hand tentatively on Bernie’s shoulder.

“Bernie?” she said quietly.

Bernie lifted her head up and smiled as she saw Serena there. The smile almost took Serena’s breath away.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” Bernie said without confidence. Serena just wanted to wrap her in her arms and take care of her. But that definitely wasn’t friend behaviour. At least not the way Serena wanted to hug her.

“You’re clearly not,” she said, her eyes not leaving Bernie’s face.

Bernie sighed and wiped her hand across her eyes. “No, I’m not. But I’m just tired. I’ll be fine.”

Serena took a deep breath before speaking to try to dispel the feeling that she should be taking Bernie back to her house and putting her to bed. She shook her head to remove that image. They were friends. No more. No fantasising about Bernie in her bed.

“Would a drink help? I was just going to head over to Albie’s.”

Bernie turned to her and smiled a grateful smile.

“That sounds great, thanks Serena.”

Bernie followed Serena out of the hospital, her eyes firmly on Serena. Serena tried to ignore the stare but her heart was beating like crazy at the thought of it.

In Albie’s, Serena chose a table right in the middle. There was a small table tucked in the corner away from prying eyes but Serena didn’t trust herself. Goodness knows what she would do without watchful eyes from the rest of the hospital. Bernie continued to stare at her over the top of her wine glass and Serena was reminded of the day she resigned at Deputy CEO. She hadn’t even realised what had been going on between them then. It was only afterwards as she replayed the scene in bed that she began to notice things. Like the way that she didn’t need to talk to Bernie to feel comfortable with her. She was pretty certain that they could happily have sat there, smiling at each other over glasses of wine all night without getting bored.

But right now, Serena couldn’t do that. That was not friend behaviour at all. She needed to get Bernie talking so she would stop staring. She wracked her brain for something to talk about. Talking to Bernie used to be so easy, now it seemed to be the most challenging thing in the world.

“Have you got any plans for the weekend?”

Serena mentally kicked herself for that. As well as it being the most boring thing that she could say, it also sounded like she was going to ask her out.

Bernie blushed slightly but answered the question as though it was just a normal thing to ask a colleague and friend.

“I’m taking Charlotte shopping.”

“She’s started talking to you? That’s great.”

“Yeah. I think Cameron spoke to her. She is still clearly not comfortable around me but she likes my money so she will put up with me to get at that.”

“I’m sure it’s not like that,” Serena said.

“It is but it is okay. Talking is the first step to getting back on track and I have that at least.” Bernie’s words slowed to the end of her sentence and Serena realised the double meaning of her words. That is what they were doing, talking. Did that mean Bernie thought they were getting back on track? Her mind went blank again and she just stared into Bernie’s eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Bernie placed her glass down on the table and slowly reached out her hand towards Serena. Serena watched as it ghosted over her arm and Bernie’s fingers gently danced over the back of her hand sending tingling sensations all over her body. She wanted to turn over her hand and lace their fingers together but she couldn’t. That wasn’t what friends did.

“Bernie,” she whispered helplessly.

Bernie pulled her hand away and looked down at the table sheepishly.

“Sorry,” she said, “I wasn’t thinking.”

Serena wanted to say something, anything, to make Bernie smile again.

“I…” she started but didn’t know how to finish. I liked it? I like you? I love you? No. None of these were appropriate for a friend.

“I’m glad you came back.”

Bernie looked up at her with some surprise.

“Really?”

Serena nodded, not trusting her treacherous mouth to speak again.

A small smile played at Bernie’s lips.

“I’m glad I came back too,” she said. She paused for a second before continuing. “I missed you.”

Serena pulled away from Bernie at her words. She couldn’t do this hinting around a relationship thing. It hurt too much.

Bernie continued speaking at Serena edged her chair away, “I’ve never had a proper friend like you before.”

Serena’s heart felt like it had grown two sizes. She didn’t know whether Bernie had noticed her uncomfortableness or whether Bernie genuinely just wanted friendship, but she was grateful either way.

“I don’t make friends easily,” Serena said, shuffling slightly closer to Bernie again, “But you wormed your way into my life right from the beginning.”

“With my failed attempt to fix your car? How could you resist being my friend?”

Serena grinned. She’s really missed this easy repartee between them.

“Come over for dinner tonight,” she suggested wildly.

Bernie looked at her questioningly and Serena felt her nerve begin to fail her.

“It’s just Jason, you know, he missed you. He’d like to see you,” said Serena, tripping over her words.

Bernie smiled, “I missed him. I’d love to come over, if you are sure that is alright with you.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t,” she replied, “Now hurry up and get that drink drunk. Jason will be expecting his food on the table soon.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely thought that I'd never finish this one but I have had a few really nice comments from people recently so I thought I'd take another look. Turns out there was another half a chapter already written and I could remember roughly where I intended this story going so here we are. Probably just another couple of chapters left in it but at least it will be finished. Thank you for the encouragement!

Serena arrived at her house ahead of Bernie. She parked the car neatly in the driveway and went into the house.

“Jason?” she called as she removed her shoes and coat.

“Yes Auntie Serena?” replied Jason as he appeared in the doorway of the living room.

“Bernie is coming over for dinner, if that is alright with you?”

“That is fine with me. I like Bernie.”

Jason turned around and started to walk back towards the sofa. He paused for a moment.

“Does that mean you and Bernie are friends again? I hope so because then you won’t be so sad anymore.”

Serena stood still in the hallway as she watched Jason walk away. She had never been sure how much Jason had picked up on over the past few months. More than she would have liked by the sound of it. Not that she minded him knowing her business or anything. She would just rather have him shielded from the worst of the emotional fallout that had taken over her life.

Putting her coat and shoes away, Serena made her way into the kitchen and began preparing dinner. It was a Wednesday which meant spaghetti bolognese. She hoped that Bernie had no problem with that, she really didn’t want to break Jason’s schedule any more than necessary.

The onions were frying and the kettle boiled before Serena realised that Bernie hadn’t turned up yet. Slightly concerned, she picked up her phone and sent a quick message to Bernie asking where she was. There was no reply and Serena began to get worried. She had thought that Bernie was heading straight to hers from Albie’s but even if she had stopped somewhere on route, she shouldn’t take this long.

The bolognese was nearly ready when Jason wandered into the kitchen. The radio was on as Serena was trying to concentrate on anything else to stop herself worrying about what might have happened to Bernie.

“Auntie Serena?” Jason asked as he grabbed some cutlery to set the table.

“Hmm?” Serena said, glancing up at him.

“Why is Bernie sat outside in her car?” he questioned innocently.

“She’s what?” replied Serena, already setting off towards the front door.

“She pulled up ages ago but she hasn’t got out yet. Did you not tell her to come in?”

Serena had pulled on her shoes by this point and was walking out the door and down the path towards Bernie’s car. Bernie looked startled at the sight of her and opened the car door as she approached.

“Bernie! What are you doing?” Serena asked as she reached the car.

“Um well I…” Bernie stuttered.

“Come on, get inside before you freeze.” Serena stood aside to give Bernie the space to climb out of the car. Bernie grabbed a bottle of wine and a bunch of flowers from the passenger seat before locking the car and following Serena up the path and into her house. She thrust the gifts into Serena’s arms before dropping her eyes to the floor.

“For you,” she said in a small voice.

Serena turned the bottle of wine around in her hand to read the label. Shiraz, unsurprisingly. But an expensive bottle of it. And the flowers were nice as well. She looked at Bernie whose eyes were still focused on the floor of the hallway.

“Thank you Bernie,” she said.  She didn’t know what these gifts were supposed to mean. They could just be normal friendship hostess gifts. But something about the expense of them lead Serena to think they might be more like gifts you would bring on a date. Not wanting to think too hard about this, she spun on her heels and headed back into the kitchen, leaving Bernie on her own in the hallway.

The food was soon ready and plated up. She carried the first couple of bowls through to the dining room to find Jason and Bernie already seated, the table set. Bernie looked up at her with big, wide eyes as she placed the bowl of bolognese down in front of her but she said nothing.

Serena took a moment in the kitchen to calm her beating heart before she went back to the dining room with the last bowl. She was beginning to regret inviting Bernie round. Not because she didn’t want her there. She wanted her there more than anything. But it was so difficult to keep their relationship strictly platonic when she was there in her house, eating her food and looking at her like she was the most important thing in the world.

By the time she sat down with her food, Bernie and Jason were engaged in a conversation about the army. Serena was happy just to listen to them. It was a topic she didn’t know much about and it was nice for Jason to get the chance to share his ideas with someone who knew so much. She allowed her gaze to fall over Bernie who was chatting animatedly away about something that had happened in her last tour. Her hair, released from the band that had held it in place all day, was messy. Her eyes were bright and shining despite her earlier tiredness. Her shirt had fallen open to reveal her collarbones. Serena almost reached out a hand to touch before realising what she was doing.

Bernie insisted on helping with the clearing up, her eyes still stubbornly focused on the floor as she spoke. Serena sat on the bar stool in the kitchen and watched as Jason showed Bernie how to stack the dishwasher and where to put the table mats. A small, traitorous part of her mind thought how nice it would be if this could be a daily routine, cooking for Jason and Bernie and them tidying up afterwards. How well Bernie could slot into their ordered lifestyle without a thought.

Jason tried to persuade Bernie to stay afterwards. He wanted her to watch some documentary with him but she declined politely.

“Another day, maybe, Jason.”

Her eyes flickered towards Serena as she spoke.

Jason shrugged and headed into the living room leaving Serena and Bernie alone.

“I better get going then,” Bernie said, not moving an inch. “Thank you for inviting me Serena. It was really nice to see Jason, and …”

Serena looked up at her. Bernie’s mouth was hanging open and her cheeks were burning.

“And?” she prompted.

Bernie shook her head. “Nothing.” She stood still for a moment longer, looking at Serena, before turning and walking into the hallway to retrieve her coat and shoes.

Serena followed her, reaching the hallway to be confronted with Bernie bending over to fasten her boots. She froze, taking in the tableau in front of her. How she longed to run her hands over that perfect figure, to find out whether it really was a firm as it looked.

Bernie stood and grabbed her coat from the rack, giving Serena the chance to school her features.

“Thank you for coming,” she said as she squeezed past Bernie to open the door. The air outside was cold and she shivered.

Bernie smiled at her and Serena found herself smiling back. They stood there, in the doorway, just smiling at each other. Then, quick as a flash, Bernie leant over and pressed a kiss to Serena’s cheek.

“See you tomorrow,” she said, practically running out of the door towards her car.

Serena lifted a hand to her face, pressing it down on her cheek where she could still feel the ghost of Bernie’s kiss. Bernie’s car was gone from sight before she lifted her head to check. She leant back against the door and sighed. She was beginning to think that this friendship with Bernie was more trouble than it was worth. But she couldn’t stay away. Bernie was like a drug. One tiny taste and she craved it all.


End file.
